Socially Speaking

Socially speaking will help you to introduce and practise skills your pupils need to develop and maintain relationships and to lead independent lives outside the school context. Socially Speaking is a unique social skills programme which lasts a whole school year and is divided into three units: let's communicate, let's be friends and let's practise. As pupils progress through the carefully structure programme, their self-esteem will increase, their listening skills and expressive language abilities will improve, and everyone will benefit from enhanced social interaction with the class. Socially Speaking contains teacher's notes, photocopiable A4 illustrated worksheets, assessment and evaluation forms. 150 pages (210 x 297mm). Perfect for Key Stage 1 & 2, plus older children with special needs.

Socially Speaking Game

This brilliant new board game teaches and reinforces important social skills in a fun way. Designed to complement the Socially Speaking book, the game focuses on social interaction in 3 key areas: home, school and the wider community. Through a variety of role-play and problem-solving activities, children are given the opportunity to practise vital skills such as listening, turn taking, giving compliments, asking questions, making telephone calls and conveying emotions. Contains game board, 100 question cards, playing pieces and teacher's notes. Ideal for 3-6 players at Key Stage 1 & 2, plus older children with special needs.

6 Social Skills Board Games

This great value set of 6 board games model good social skills and behaviour. The six games include morals, manners, empathy, friendship, showing emotions and managing emotions.

Each game supports the development of social and emotional skills and the consolidation of those already learnt. A comprehensive approach to promoting the social and emotional skills that underpin effective learning, positive behaviour, regular attendance, staff effectiveness and the emotional health and well-being of all who learn and work in schools.

Contains 6 games made from durable cardboard (297 x 420mm), 20 counters and a die

101 Games for Social Skills

This invaluable new book is packed with creative and dynamic games that will help children to develop positive relationships. There are 2 sections to the book; the first part includes games that teach looking, listening, speaking, thinking and concentration skills. The second consolidates the 5 skill areas and provides opportunities for children to apply them in different social contexts. All of the activities have been tried, tested and thoroughly enjoyed! They are suitable for schools, youth groups, young adults’ groups, health departments and social services. Contains 144 pages (246 x 168mm).

Time to Talk

Help pupils at reception and Key Stage 1 gain access to the curriculum and develop friendships. School can be a frustrating and confusing experience for children who have not developed their communication skills. Access to the curriculum may be difficult, as will developing co-operative skills and friendships. Written by the author of our best-selling Socially Speaking, Time to Talk has been developed to teach and develop oral language and social interaction skills to children aged 4-6. Containing 40 sessions, designed to take place 2 or 3 times a week, Time to Talk will help you teach and develop the 'rules' of interaction with the help of Ginger Bear who features in all the activities. The skills taught include: eye contact, turn taking, sharing, greetings, awareness of feelings, giving/following instructions, listening, attention and play skills. Your pupils and your whole class will benefit from Time to Talk. 224 pages.

The Time to Talk Game

This fantastic board game will teach and develop essential language and social skills to pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1. The game is centred around Ginger Bear and is designed to complement the Time to Talk book. It is a fun and accessible way of helping younger children improve their communication skills and social interactions. Pupils have the opportunity to perform a variety of role-play activities, practice everyday actions and provide information about themselves. Through these enjoyable tasks they learn vital social skills including: listening, turn-taking, asking and answering questions, engaging in basic conversations, non-verbal communication, eye-contact and understanding feelings. Contains game board, 96 question cards, Ginger Bear toy, 4 Ginger Bear jigsaws, 4 playing pieces, die and teacher's notes.

Ginger Bear Puppet

This friendly and very cute Ginger Bear puppet will be an invaluable resource for all social, emotional and behavioural work with your class. It is ideal for use either on its own, or to accompany and enhance use of the Time to Talk book or game. Ginger Bear will encourage and develop a variety of social, communication and language skills such as turn-taking, active listening, role play and building friendships, and will be a popular addition to any classroom. Ginger measures 280mm

101 Games for Self Esteem

This practical book provides a comprehensive collection of innovative games that are essential for any teacher interested in unlocking the full potential of children by promoting their self-esteem. This is vital, as a positive self-image leads to more effective social skills. 101 Games for Self-Esteem is full of exciting and engaging games that promote an enjoyable environment in which to teach and encourage children. The games are a great way for children to learn how to relate well to others, feel more positive about themselves and to teach valuable skills, such as self-awareness, empathy, co-operation and the confidence to trust. Benefiting from the authors' considerable knowledge and experience, this book will enable teachers to share in the fun, humour and friendship of games, with the positive knowledge that these childhood experiences will help shape the adult lives of their pupils. Contains 144 pages (246 x 168mm).

Forest of Feelings

An excellent new resource to help children understand and explore emotions. Forest of Feelings is an enchanting story about Ben's quest to save a forest, and a powerful means to promote positive emotional well-being in children. An emotionally healthy child will not only be a better learner, they will also be more sociable and enjoy enhanced relationships. In sharing Ben's adventures in the forest, children will be able to explore the emotions of anger, sadness, fear and jealousy. They will meet the forest tribes of the Fumers, Sobalots, Trembolos and Notfers, who are each only able to react using one emotion. By learning from Ben's interactions with these creatures, children will learn ways of coping with these emotions within themselves. They will also share in the emotion of the final chapter - happiness. This book includes an introduction to understanding and exploring emotions with children, providing excellent advice on how to encourage each child's emotional development. Each chapter also includes teacher's notes, creative activities and a Circle Time script that engages with the emotion depicted in each chapter. Contains 96 A4 pages

Social Skills Programmes
An Integrated Approach from Early Years to Adolescence

Maureen Aarons & Tessa Gittens
From the authors of Autism: A Social Skills Approach for Children & Adolescents, this publication contains detailed photocopiable session plans for early years, infants, juniors and adolescents.

Primarily for able and verbal children with an autistic spectrum disorder, the programmes are relevant to the needs of a much wider group of children than those with a formal diagnosis.

·  The session plans are very flexible; they can be used as presented, or adjusted to include aspects of the national curriculum or to meet the needs of particular groups in both clinical and educational settings.
·  At the early-years level the programme introduces children to good attention behaviour, which includes looking, listening and turn-taking. By adolescence, the participants are helped to deal effectively with real-life situations, as well as gaining some insight into the thoughts, perspectives and intentions of others.
·  The programmes emphasise integrated working practices that cross professional boundaries, particularly for teachers and speech & language therapists, which reflects the current focus for the integration of children with special needs into mainstream education.
Contents
The introduction; The programmes (over 10 sessions for early years, infants, juniors and adolescents); Appendix.
Readership
Teachers and speech & language therapists working together in an educational setting.

Social Skills Activities for Special Children

For all teachers of children with special needs, here are 142 ready-to-use lessons and reproducible line master activity sheets to help children become aware of acceptable social behavior and develop proficiency in acquiring basic social skills. Each lesson places a specific skill within the context of real-life situations. It gives the teacher a means to guide students to think about the social skill and why it is important, and provides a hands-on activity for students to work through, think about, discuss, and practice in or outside of the classroom.

Link to Speechmark, Social Skills & Relationships cards